1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a clamp used in the grounding of electrical systems, and more specifically to a grounding clamp that can be easily attached to an existing and readily accessible electrical ground surface of a fixture to provide an adequate ground connection.
2. Discussion of Relevant Information
Currently, for installations involving electrical service where power is brought to a residence, for example, technicians must provide on-premise grounding, which is most commonly established either via an attic ground connection or on an exterior cold water pipe. These types of installations, used to establish an adequate ground connection, generally involve the use of #10 or #12 ground wire run from a ground terminal on the electrical equipment to, e.g., the nearest external cold water pipe, or to a ground connection within the residence, where the wire is then terminated by attaching a standard grounding clamp to such a connection. Implementation of either of these options for making such a grounding connection have obvious drawbacks.
With use of an attic ground, for example, a technician must have access to the interior of the premises in which he is operating, as well as access to an appropriate connection, which is frequently found in a residential attic. Finding a suitable ground connection in such circumstances is too uncertain to be reliable, in terms of both the time and effort involved. Further, attachment to an attic connection usually requires a customer to be home, even in situations where no other inside work has been requested. This often results in missed appointments and repeated, costly trips by technicians to the work area. Besides the accessibility problem, attic work is often dangerous, with the potential for property damage.
One other presently used option, i.e., of using the ground of an exterior cold water pipe, usually requires long and unsightly wire runs that can come loose due to inadequate connections, or which can be tripped over by the workman or by others passing through the area. The actual attachment of the wire to a cold water pipe also has an inherent uncertainty in that it is often impossible to establish a solid physical connection. In addition, many cold water systems now use P.V.C. pipes, either in their original construction or in subsequent repair and replacement, which are nonmetallic and which render the cold water pipe useless for a ground connection.
A further problem inherent with establishing an electrical ground connection inside a building, or at an external point via attachment to a cold water pipe, resides in the difficulty of visual inspection. Hence, decreased safety results due to the risk that an improperly grounded system will exist if a ground connection were faulty or were not established.